Live free ride
hard to Nepal
Trip Itinerary: Bangalore
– Lucknow – Saunali – Lumbini - Pokhra – Last Resort – Kathmandu – Bardibas -
Ilam – Darjeeling
Lucknow -> Saunali
(Nepal)
The flight reached Lucknow
at 8:25 a.m. At the airport we took the taxi for 250 rs. At the prepaid counter
it was told 300 rs. You can bargain for around 200. We reached the railway
station to pick up our bikes by 9:30 a.m. but the counter at the railway station
opens only by 10-10:30.
Checklist:
- A swiss knife to remove packing from bikes else you will
have to pay someone to remove the packing.
- 5 liter empty can as bikes won't have petrol while
packed and transported and in case the petrol pump is far
- A good cloth actually multiple number of clothes to
clean bikes
A right turn from the
railway station and around 3-4 km you can find a petrol pump.
#Stay
Some people suggested us
Sanju lodge but we were so tired that we took the first lodge we found named
Niranjana.
Saunali – Lumbini - Pokhara
Here got Indian currency
changed to Nepali rupees. You can get them exchanged anywhere in Nepal because
the exchange rate is same everywhere*.
*100 Indian rupees = 160
Nepali rupees.
- Get a gate pass madeWith the gate pass, go to the window where permit is made
- They fill the form. You need only RC and DL Photostat and original. The person whose DL is shown needs to be present in person.
- Pay 980 Nepali rupees.
- An officer comes and checks the bike.
- In our case, the officer who checked our bikes but didn’t ask us to open our luggage but just in case, it would be better to put cover ( tarpoline in our case) after the permit and checking.
We took the Xerox copy of
permits. Bought a local SIM to keep in touch with our families. For SIM you
need passport or any id proof, it’s Xerox and a photo. Fill a form, pay 265 Nepali rupees (165 INR).
#Lumbini
From here we started for
Lumbini ‘Birth place of Lord Buddha’, 23 Km from Bhairwah( Permit
location).
In Lumbini, at the
entrance Indians have to pay 50 Nepali rupees. The inside of the temple is
quiet and calm.
Pokhara is the second largest city
of Nepal. It is one of the most popular tourist
destinations in Nepal. Three out of
the ten highest mountains in the world — Dhaulagiri, Annapurna I and Manaslu — are situated
within 30 miles (linear distance) of the city, so that the northern skyline of
the city offers a very close view of the Himalayas. Pokhara valley is rich in water sources. There
are many lakes there. One lake which we surely suggest you should not miss
is Phewa or Fewa lake.
Pokhara is around
200 Km from Lumbini. The road for Pokhara is mountain trail but the roads are
well built with few bad patches in case of landslides. The ride was mesmerizing
with river on one Side and mountains on other.
#Stay
Late in the night at
around 12 am, we got into ‘Lake Peace’ hotel. This hotel was away from the
heart of the city, as we reached really late but in case you would like to stay
in Pokhara , we suggest lake view road which offers many hotel options.
- Lunch
at ‘don’t pass by me’ restaurant where the food was good, the location was
nice with a lake view
- Dinner at a Korean restaurant called Apple café can be found near Gorakha museum.
- On
lake view road, you could chillax at Blue café which offers live music and
happening crowd.The city also offers many dance bars, though I would
suggest, you should go there only to have a hearty laugh.
Places to see in Pokhara
- Bullet base camp
- Mahendra caves
- Sarangkot
- Gorkha museum
#Bullet
base camp
It’s located on Mansawar
road. To our dismay,it was closed as its owner from
Holland had gone back to his country.
#Mahendra caves
Next we left for Mahendra
caves from Base camp. Roads are very nice and steep. You always have a view of
mountains while travelling in Pokhara. The day was cloudy with dainty breeze
but luckily with no rain
#Sarangkot
Next we rode to Sarangkot
from Mahendra caves. This definitely is not a place to be missed if you are
traveling to Pokhara. At an altitude of 1600 meter, this village gives a
striking view of Himalayan range and the lakes at the same time.
The roads were nice until
a point where due to construction we landed up riding in a patch full of mud
and stones.I am sure once this construction is over, up till the summit, you
will have smooth roads to enjoy. Pokhara is a place for para gliding. At a cost
of 4500 Nepali rupees a decent para gliding can be done.
Pokhara – Kathmandu – The
Last Resort
We started for Kathmandu
around 9 a.m. Today’s plan was to reach Last resort via Kathmandu, a distance
of about 230 km.
Note: This could have been changed in our
plan to spend 1st 3
days in Kathmandu and the go last resort come to Dhulikhel and go to Ilam instead of going last resort first, coming back to
Kathmandu and then again going until Dulikhel to go Ilam.
The ride to Kathmandu was lush green. There
were fields with rice growing and step farming being done. The roads were
smooth with no glitches though needless to say that it was completely
mountainous terrain.
We reached Kathmandu around 6:30 p.m. Without
entering the city, we took a right turn for Dhulikhel. After a ride of around
70 Km we reached Dhulikhel at around 9:30 p.m. and Last resort told us that it
takes 3 more hours from Dhulikhel. So without wasting any more time, we
continued riding. Initially the roads were good. Few Kilometers away from
The Last Resort , an army check post asked us to open our luggage and show them
all our stuff.
After this post, the road was rough and it
was pretty dark. Finally we reached the Last resort. As the name suggests, it
is really a last resort.
Day at Last Resort
First we went for Canyon swing where you are
tied to a rope around your waist and you jump. Once the rope stops swinging,
the guy at the bottom picks you. From here you trek back to the resort.
After this I again went for Bungee jumping.
This was more difficult for me as now I was tied at my ankles rather than waist
and I had to look down and jump. Again here we trek back to the resort after
the adrenaline rush
After Lunch, we left for Nepal-Tibet border
on bikes. The place was busting with trading activities. There were lot of
trucks and packages. People were moving packed stuff here and there. We went on
the bridge (Photography is not allowed at the line). Half of it belongs to
Nepal and half to China.
Day 2 at Last Resort - Kathmandu (Thamel)
The day of canyoning*.
We got dressed in canyoning suit. Without any
briefing Pola ( Our Guide) and us started our trek up. After few minutes of
trekking, we reached to the place where the canyoning is done. After briefing
by Pola we started. In this a rope is put around your waist and you walk down
the ropes while the water keeps falling on you from the top. It was an
incredible experience. http://www.thelastresort.com.np/
If you are travelling to Nepal, then as per
our group your trip is incomplete without having gone to Last resort and done
the adventurous activities, they have to offer.
Next the only thing that we could ask for was
a sleep but we started back around 5 p.m.
We covered around 100 km and reached
Kathmandu, Thamel. Thamel is really a traveler’s paradise. There are numerous
options for hotels, restaurants, shopping, pubs, discs and dance bars.
#Stay at Kathmandu
We checked into hotel named down town.
#Kathmandu Day
Places to visit:
· Thamel
· Pashupatinath temple
· Boudha temple
· Nagarkot
Keeping a local map handy is suggested so
that you can efficiently plan your day as Kathmandu offers many places to see
and visit.
#Food
Dinner at Bamboo shoot. I wouldn’t recommend
this restaurant because Sangria here was shit and also because there are much
better options available in close vicinity.
Lunch at a hotel suggested by localites to
try Newari food (specialty of Nepal: Buffalo meat). Here we were also offered a
local drink. I had a sip of it. It tasted much stronger than even whisky.
We started for Pashupatinath temple where
only Hindus are allowed.The temple was dirty. The peace which one would look
forward to in a spiritual place was missing.
#Boudhanath (Boudha)
Next we went to Boudhanath (Boudha) . There
is a short cut available from Pashupatinath to Boudhanath. Any localite will be
able to guide you. After few km of ride, we reached the temple. The ticket
there was 40 nepali rupees. This was a beautiful place with a world of its own.
The temple closes at 6:30 p.m. hence plan your visit accordingly.
Thamel
also offers you many options to do shopping. You can find some good quality
North face brand pants, bags, shoes etc. here. We wanted to go to Fire club Bar
& Café** but had an expensive cover charge so instead went to other local
pubs. If you are on a long trip you can give your clothes for laundry here. Its
50 rupees for 2 kg and it takes a day to get your clothes back
Kathmandu - Bardibas - Ilam
To go Ilam, we landed up going back to
Dulikhel. There took a right turn and started for Bardibas. The road was very
nice. The mountains on one side and the river on the other side. The road was
amazingly smooth. After having ridden for a while there was a part where
the road was being constructed and here we came across the first long stretch
of treacherous road. Our plan was to reach to Bardibas.
Here we stayed in hotel Gautam*. The dinner
was not very good here.
Bardibas - Ilam
Next day, we started for Ilam. This was
supposed to be 373 km. Once the mountain road started, it was suddenly
unexpectedly very cold. We must have ridden just few kilometers in the
mountains and we found clouds and fog so much so that we could not see what lay
even 10 meter ahead of us. As this was not safe so we stopped and stayed at a
hotel named Bishal.
Ilam – Darjeeling
Instead of going to Ilam, Darjeeling can be
reached via pashupatinath. Through pashupatinath we reached Darjeeling in an
hour’s time. Finally, we were out of Nepal and started our ride to Darjeeling.
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